ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NEW YORK — Throughout his senior season, Shabazz Napier has been Connecticut’s do-it-all player. Need points scored? He does it. Need rebounds? He grabs them. Need assists? He dishes them out. The Huskies point guard stands 6-1 (in sneakers) and has tormented opposing players throughout the year.

But for all the accolades bestowed upon Napier, there’s one subtle piece of his game that stands out:

The pump fake.

“I think that with my ability to make shots and penetrate and get other guys going — it makes it easier for me to pump fake,” Napier said. “And get guys in the air or something like that. But it’s kind of something that I go to, if I need it.”

It’s a move that most all basketball players are taught at some point in their careers, how to stop on a dime and fake the shot well enough to get a defender to buy it. Then, either draw a foul or get a clearer path for a shot. It’s a move that most coaches agree doesn’t get used often enough ... or as often as it once did.

But it’s a move that the Connecticut guard has come close to perfecting.

“I think he’s the best ball-faker,” Huskies coach Kevin Ollie said.

What enables Napier to be so successful when he goes to the pump fake, is that he’s an equal threat to pull up and shoot as he is to tuck the ball and drive the lane at the basket. A defender has to treat both scenarios with caution, because Napier shoots almost 43 percent from the floor and almost 40 percent from 3-point range. (He was the best 3-point shooter in the American Athletic Conference this season, at 38.8 percent.)

In addition, Napier’s ability to get his own rebound must remain a concern for defenders. He has an offensive rebounding percentage of 3.5 — which doesn’t rate nationally, but is considered to be among the best because of his size.

“He’s hard to guard, especially when he’s offensive-minded and aggressive, because he’s a great facilitator,” Ollie said. “He leads out team in assists and he does whatever it takes for us to win. When I have the ball in his hands at the end of the or at a crucial time, I couldn’t think of a better guard to do it.”

Plus, officials aren’t hesitant to blow the whistle on a defender crashing down upon Napier when he pump-fakes because he creates so much contact. That’s a bad thing for opposing teams: Napier is deadly at the free-throw line, shooting 86.2 percent — in the top 60 nationwide.

“I learned that from Kemba Walker,” Napier explained. “He did the step-back, pump-fake, got-you-in-the-air, got-to-the-foul line. When you learn something from a great player — and I believe he learned it from A.J. Price — you tend to use it when you need it.”

It’s something that Connecticut’s opponent in the Sweet 16 tonight are all too aware of.

“He can really handle the ball,” said Iowa State guard DeAndre Kane. “His stutter-step, his step-backs, his fakes and he can shoot the ball, too. You’ve just got to be conscious of him or you’re probably going to be in trouble. With him, you’ve always got to be in a stance on defense and be ready for whatever he’s going to do.”

Or fake doing.

“I have the ability to go to the basket or make a shot,” Napier said. “And when that happens, it’s another threat to give a pump-fake, because guys are looking for me to take the shot.”

On College Basketball will appear regularly during the NCAA Tournament.